Wheat Ridge Police Department

Judith Eakins, schmuck, stole from elderly mom, charged with ripping off high school

Ever heard someone described as being so greedy that she would steal from her own mother? Well, that particular shoe fits Judith Eakins, 53, as if it was made for her, since she did steal from her own mother, a 92 year old with dementia who died last month. But that's not the only reason Eakins is ... More >>

American Guns' Gunsmoke Guns: Did Wyatt family rip off the I.R.S. for years?

Update: We've been following a series of surprising incidents involving Gunsmoke Guns, a Wheat Ridge store that served as the setting of American Guns, a reality TV series that was recently canceled by the Discovery Channel; see our previous coverage below. First, there was a robbery. Then, there w ... More >>

Leeann Meyer search: Missing woman's Rav4 and truck found, foul play fears

On February 23, Wheat Ridge resident Leann Meyer, nicknamed Annie, had a phone conversation with a friend. That's the last time anyone has spoken to her. The Wheat Ridge Police Department hasn't called her disappearance a result of foul play thus far. But the search for her has grown as the story h ... More >>

Just-cancelled American Guns' Gunsmoke Guns robbed through hole in roof

It's been a rough patch for Wheat Ridge-based Gunsmoke Guns. First, American Guns, the Discovery Channel show set at the business, was cancelled in what some have interpreted as fallout from the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. And now, the arms-heavy shop has been ... More >>

Gary Haney, killed by SWAT team, was sex-mag publisher, former Big Daddy of Denver nightlife

On August 26, Gary Haney, forty, was shot and killed at a Wheat Ridge Ramada Inn after a long standoff with a SWAT team. Afterward, accounts like this one noted his past criminal history, but not his previous self-created image as the "cunning but kindhearted Big Daddy of Denver's nightlife" -- a de ... More >>

Donald Schaffer ID'd as killer of Joyce, wife of 43 years, in Wheatridge Manor murder-suicide (2)

Update: The Wheat Ridge Police Department has now identified the principals in a Sunday murder suicide at the Wheatridge Manor nursing home as Donald Schaffer, 66, and Joyce Schaffer, 69, who'd been living at the facility for ten months. The couple were married for 43 years -- and their loved ones ... More >>

Wylie Newton charged with stealing antique gun from museum, trying to sell it on TV

Thieves dispensing with stolen goods typically do so quietly, outside the public eye. But if Wheat Ridge Police are right, Wylie Newton is a different breed. Newton is accused of stealing an antique pistol from a New Mexico museum, then trying to sell it on a reality TV show.

A gang of cartoon characters landed these students in trouble

Slide show: Meet the Slang Gang

"Saul Gud" streets artists: How police tracked them with Facebook

"I was able to view an album titled 'Homies' by 'Ray Jin' on Facebook." That was some of the excellent police work done by the Wheat Ridge Police Department while investigating Corey and Jesse Knapper, the subjects of this week's Westword cover story, "Buzz Kill." The twins and art-school students g ... More >>

Drug Task Force goes after art school students for Slang Gang posters

Saul Gud turns into a Buzz Kill for RMCAD students

Mary Torres allegedly steals SUV with kids inside, hits & runs before crashing into house

CBS4​Mary Torres, 27, is accused of leaving a trail of destruction in her wake yesterday -- not the least of which was the house she crashed into after she allegedly stole a Jeep with two children inside. The kids are okay, but Torres definitely isn't, given the array of charges against her.

Travis Forbes, self-described suspect in Kenia Monge case, busted in Texas for car theft

Travis Forbes.​Travis Forbes, a self-described suspect in the April 1 disappearance of Kenia Monge, nineteen, has been arrested -- but not for a crime related to Monge. Instead, he was busted in Austin, Texas, for car theft. According to the Wheat Ridge Police Department, the car Forbes was d ... More >>

Tiffany Nicole Weaver, 7 others, indicted for alleged meth-fueled auto-theft ring (PHOTOS)

Big pics below.​Meth makes people do some desperate things -- like, according to a grand jury indictment aimed at Tiffany Nicole Weaver and seven others, steal vehicles from seventy different victims. Of the 103 counts, Weaver is named in 83 of them. Page down below to see mug shots of the sus ... More >>

Mange & scabies alert due to Wheat Ridge foxes

Flickr​Mange and scabies aren't ailments most of us associate with the 21st century. But Wheat Ridge Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Stigall says they're still around and a very real danger in her community thanks to some stricken foxes, as is demonstrated by a disgusting photo on view bel ... More >>

Ron Rocha, Regis coach, part of 20-kilos-a-week cocaine-ring bust: See mug shots & drug photos

Large photos below.​Last month, Ron Rocha, a volunteer baseball coach for Regis University, was on the losing end of an intra-squad matchup dubbed the Fall World Series. But he suffered an even greater defeat yesterday, when he was among 35 people named by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the bus ... More >>

JV Bandit's alleged return part of recession ready metro-area bank-robbing threepeat

JV Bandit?​The number of bank robberies in these parts may not be the most accurate gauge of the continuing economic funk, but it'll do in a pinch, as evidenced by not one, not two, but three new heists. First up is the JV Bandit, who first made headlines in July before allegedly hitting anot ... More >>

JV Bandit makes another bid for varsity status -- by allegedly robbing another Wheat Ridge bank

The JV Bandit.​Last month, we noted that the JV Bandit would make the varsity soon, given the rate at which he was allegedly knocking over banks. And the suspect, named by the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, which has bestowed monikers on the likes of the Formerly Known as the Perennia ... More >>

Robert Knudsen: Sexually violent predator leaves Wheat Ridge on heels of parole violation

Robert Knudsen.​One of the most uncomfortable responsibilities for municipalities these days is to inform the citizenry that a sexually violent predator has come to town. So imagine how delighted the folks in Wheat Ridge were to let folks know that one who'd previously been living in the commu ... More >>

Robert Wallace shooting: Make My Day law meets Gran Torino

Robert Wallace on 9News.​The Robert Wallace case has all the trademarks of a justice-gone-awry tale. When Wallace, an 81-year-old Wheat Ridge resident, saw two men trying to steal his trailer this past February, he opened fire, hitting one of the men in the head. But the person busted in the s ... More >>

Creepazoid allegedly trying to lure kids using puppy promises

A Flickr photoIf a stranger offers to show you one of these, kids, don't bite.​Puppies: They're wonderful to hug. But cuddling up with the guy in Wheat Ridge who's been chatting up kids about them would be infinitely less enjoyable. According to the Wheat Ridge Police Department, a middle-age ... More >>

Sonia Sotomayor could declare martial law on Kevin Orcutt's nunchaku

Today's most disgusting crime: Raw sewage dump near Wheat Ridge High School

A photo of a suspect in a raw-sewage dumping; click to enlarge the image. Here's a crime that really stinks: Wheat Ridge Police are on the lookout for a man who poured raw sewage directly from his camper into a drain leading to a retention pond near Wheat Ridge High School. No big deal? Well, Wheat ... More >>

July 4: What you can blow up and where

A Flickr photo So you want to set some shit off this weekend? Because different jurisdictions have different rules, fireworks that may be perfectly lawful on one block may be illegal on the next. Most items that neither explode nor leave the ground are permissible in Colorado. But in Wheat Ridge, a ... More >>

Free Poker Tour Is a Dead Man's Hand

When these Amateur Poker Tour investors realized they'd been bluffed, they tried their hand at murder.

Do No Harm

Is Brian O'Connell all he's quacked up to be?

Skin Deep

Inside the Rocky Mountain Heritage Fest, Colorado's first neo-Nazi music festival.

Caught in the Net

The Web was a pedophile's paradise -- until Mike and Cassandra Harris logged on.

Grave Reservations

The Colorado Historical Society has collected Indian artifacts for 120 years. Now it has to give many of them back.